A Guide To Choosing Turkey Loads 

With spring turkey season quickly approaching, many hardcore gobbler chasers are already experiencing the phenomenon of being unable to focus on simple tasks at work or home due to visions of strutting Toms playing constantly in their minds. 

Face it: We’ve all been there. We’re putting a new latch on the yard gate, and when we close it, the sound resembles a yelping hen. Poof: We’re in the turkey woods, looking down the barrel of our shotgun. Or, on our way to work, we drive past a creek surrounded by cottonwoods and slow down, hoping to catch a glimpse of turkeys or perhaps hear an early gobble. So much for concentrating at work today! 

Those who love turkey hunting will tell you there’s truly nothing like it. Due to a gobbler’s keen sense of sight, excellent hearing, and natural instinct for recognizing danger, harvesting a big Tom is quite an accomplishment in many parts of the country. Achieving this in areas where birds face heavy hunting pressure is even more impressive. 

Any discussion of turkey hunting naturally leads to guns and tactics—two crucial elements of the sport. Today, however, we’ll focus on turkey shotshells with the aim of providing insights for newcomers to the game of gobbler getting. 

The answer to that question, of course, is yes. If a turkey is standing close enough, you can pop him in the head with a load of No. 8 birdshot using an improved cylinder choke and knock his snood in the dust.  

The issue with this is that getting turkeys within that kind of range is quite challenging. Shots are often taken at 30, 40, or even 50 yards, so tighter-choked shotguns firing heavier, more efficient payloads provide hunters with a significantly better chance of success. Fortunately, turkey shells have advanced significantly over the past few decades. Purpose-built turkey shells featuring specialized shot, wads, and other components, when used with properly choked shotguns, can make it possible to take a bird at 50 yards and beyond, rather than resulting in another failed attempt. 

Let’s examine a few aspects of turkey ammunition that new hunters should understand before searching for the best match for their gobbler-getting scattergun. 

In the past, most turkey shells used round lead shot as their payload. It was extremely effective and, in fact, still is. My last longbeard was dropped at 30 yards with a shell from a 40-year-old box of turkey ammo that I stumbled upon while cleaning my hunting closet. I made it my mission to kill a bird with that old ammo, and my task ended with a one-shot kill. 

Ammo companies discovered that by plating lead shot with materials like copper, they could create pellets that were harder and more consistently concentric. The resulting copper-plated turkey loads took the world by storm and quickly became standard. Hunters were ecstatic because the plated shot, combined with tighter, turkey-specific shotgun chokes, patterned well at unheard-of distances. 

Then came buffering—a technology that placed powdered material inside the shot cup alongside the plated lead shot, resulting in even tighter patterns at longer distances. Turkey hunters had it better than ever—until shell manufacturers discovered how to create turkey-specific wads, or shot cups, that further tightened these loads 

Just when we thought things couldn’t get any better, new materials emerged, largely due to the federal ban on lead shot for waterfowl hunting. Ammo companies discovered heavier and denser (though more expensive) materials than lead that could be utilized, providing even better patterns and enhanced gobbler-thumping energy. Over the past several years, Tungsten Super Shot (TSS) has become the go-to load for several reasons—not the least of which is that TSS has a density of 18.0 to 18.3 grams per cubic centimeter (g/cc). This is 60% denser than traditional lead shot, allowing manufacturers to use more, albeit smaller, shot in their shells, resulting in very high energy and numerous penetrations to a gobbler’s face 

Surely, the technology would stop. Wrong. Manufacturers eventually learned that by “stacking” different-sized pellets inside the wad, they could create even more effective turkey loads. Soon, some even began stacking lead and TSS, giving shells many characteristics of TSS loads while keeping prices closer to pure lead shells. 

Today’s turkey hunters can choose from a variety of loads made with different shot materials. Another variable is the price tag. A five-pack of top-quality TSS shells in 12 gauge from some manufacturers will cost you up to 100 bucks. If you winced a little when calculating that’s $20 each, welcome to the “cringe every time you pull the trigger” club. On the other end of the spectrum, lead shells, which may not provide quite as much range or pellet energy, come at a significantly lower price. A 10-pack will run you about $25, averaging around $2.50 a shell. 

While the turkey-hunting world is dominated by the 12-gauge shotgun, that’s not the only choice hunters have. Both 16- and 20-gauge shotguns are good turkey killers with modern ammunition and are often utilized for smaller-framed hunters or young hunters just learning the gobbler-getting game. 

Indeed, so-called “sub-gauge” turkey hunting is currently taking the fields and woods by storm right now. The desire of many to add to the challenge of the hunt by killing a turkey with a 28-gauge shotgun or even .410 bore has led to gun manufacturers introducing specialized sub-gauge turkey models and shell makers producing the ammo needed to kill gobblers with these small-bore scatterguns.

One note: Turkey hunting was once dominated by the 10-gauge shotgun. Due to its ability to push more shot pellets at a higher velocity, the 10 gauge was the original long-range gobbler getter. Some hunters still love the Big 10, despite its weight and recoil, and most ammo makers carry a 10-gauge load or two.

Shot size is another important consideration. Historically when lead shot was the only game in town, ammo makers used mostly No. 4, 5 and 6 shot in their shells. That was necessary because it took the bigger pellets to carry enough downrange energy to cleanly kill a bird. Nowadays, thanks to the TSS craze, you’ll see lots of No. 7, 8 and even 9 shot. Because of the density compared to lead, these smaller pellets can carry the same energy downrange. And as a bonus, these shells have many more pellets in their payload than those using larger lead shot. You can visit Federal’s Shotshell Science page to learn more about shotshell pellet counts, and Winchester ammunition has an excellent Ammo101 presentation here.

Deciding whether to shoot $2 turkey loads or $20 turkey loads is a personal financial choice you must make for yourself. Considering the costs associated with hunting leases, travel, time off work, and fuel, many feel that since they’ll only shoot a shell or two a year, the higher expense is easily justified—and that reasoning is quite valid, in my mind. 

Here, we will provide you with some excellent options across a wide range of price points. 

Loaded with Number 7, 9, or 7/9 duplex shot, the TSS used in these loads is 22% higher than standard tungsten and 56% denser than lead. Pair that with Federal’s FLIGHT CONTROL FLEX wad, and you achieve excellent patterns at extended distances, providing the advantage of many more pellets hitting your target. Full-length wads prevent direct contact between the extra-hard pellets and the bore, protecting the barrel. These shells aren’t inexpensive: MSRP is $79.99 for a pack of five. 

Another long-range specialty shell that still gets the job done up close, the Hevi-18 TSS Turkey load utilizes high-density 18 g/cc pellets along with their friction-reducing spherical buffer to extend effective range. Pushed at high velocities, TSS pellets carry more energy farther downrange, enabling hunters to drop three shot sizes from their usual lead payloads while achieving higher pellet counts and denser patterns. The No. 9 load boasts an impressive payload of 815 pellets! However, these will cost you: The 3.5-inch load retails for over $100 a box! 

This emerging company, best known for its waterfowl loads, also offers a TSS turkey load that can knock gobblers into tomorrow. Migra states they’ve “loaded the perfect mix of #7 and #9 TSS.” By using a modern buffer and sealed crimp, these high-quality turkey shells ensure you won’t be left empty-handed due to your ammo choice. Typically available for around $70 a box at retailers, they present a budget-friendly option for those seeking to upgrade to TSS performance. 

For turkey hunters seeking a high-quality shell at a more reasonable price, Winchester’s Longbeard XR is an excellent choice. This load provides turkey hunters with the tightest patterns and longest shot capability of any lead turkey load Winchester has ever offered, which is quite impressive. By packing twice the copper-plated lead pellets into a 10-inch circle compared to similar turkey loads up to 60 yards, these shells incorporate Shot-Lok technology to ensure devastating terminal performance on target. They are typically available for $25 to $30 for a box of 10.